1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a stack of absorbent articles for absorption of body fluids, each article being individually wrapped.
2. Background Art
Absorbent articles for personal hygiene, especially those articles which are intended to be worn inside ordinary briefs and are in this connection fitted in the briefs by the user personally, are often single-wrapped. Single wrapping means that each absorbent article is packed in a wrapping cover. In this way, it is simple for the user, in an easy and hygienic manner, to carry one or more absorbent articles, for example in a handbag. Examples of the type of absorbent article concerned are sanitary towels, panty liners and incontinence pads for people with mild to moderate incontinence.
The most common way of single-wrapping absorbent articles is by folding them together into a smaller size, after which they are packed in a thin wrapping cover made of plastic or paper. Such a wrapping cover often consists of a rectangular piece of material, which has been folded twice in its transverse direction and subsequently joined together along its side edges so that a bag-like container for the absorbent article is formed, and also a lid part which can close the container. In the closed state of the wrapping cover, the lid part is frequently fastened in the edge joins on the outside of the container part by releasable joins, such as breakable welds or releasable glue. There can also be further sealing between the lid part and the container part along the end edge of the lid part. Such sealing can be in the form of, for example, releasable glue, hook and loop means, tape flaps or the like. If the sealing means allows resealing, it can also be used for closing the wrapping cover if it is used for wrapping up an absorbent article after use.
It has been found, however, that the known single wrappings can be difficult to open. As the wrapping material is thin and flexible, the lid part will come to lie close to the outside of the container part. This problem is accentuated by the fact that absorbent articles of the type concerned here are packed with a large number of individually wrapped articles in a larger outer packing. In this connection, the articles are pressed together with a fair degree of force, the wrapping covers also being subjected to being pressed together, which of course means that the lid part of the wrapping cover is pressed against the outside of the container part. Owing to the strong compression of the wrapping material and the fact that the wrapping material is usually very thin and flexible, it has become apparent that many users find it difficult to grip the edge of the lid part so that the wrapping cover can be opened. It can be very difficult both to discern the edge visually and to feel where it is with the fingers. This is clearly a particular problem for people with impaired vision or with limited manual dexterity. As the occurrence of incontinence increases with increasing age, as do vision problems and problems of poor mobility and/or feeling in the hands, handling of the known single wrappings is therefore a common and particularly irritating problem especially for older users of absorbent articles.